


Begin Again

by ApocalypticAssass1n



Series: Reactivation AU [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark, F/F, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-22 19:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3740257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApocalypticAssass1n/pseuds/ApocalypticAssass1n
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Crystal Gems, after sacrificing themselves in the War to keep Homeworld away from it, are trapped in their gems for centuries.</p><p>Then, in the 1920s, they're woken up. </p><p>An alternate universe fic that reimagines a lot of the elements of the SU canon.</p><p>First of a series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Apoc here. This is my first fic, so please keep that in mind while reading. I will accept and appreciate any and all criticism (only if constructive).
> 
> This is just something I made to put out some of my ideas of how different elements of the SU canon could be different, though not necessarily better (as stated in the summary). For example, what if Beach City actually WAS a city? What if Homeworld started a corporation on Earth to try and get it ready for another full-scale invasion? What if gems could be reactivated using a human body?

Lifeless.

 

Suddenly, life.

She could feel the entire room as her form was projected onto space with little planning, few intention. Her head hanging from the ceiling, her arms sticking out of the floor. As something deep in her subconscious was trying to get her to return to her default form, she could feel her limbs rearrange, her body pulsating. She tried to look to her left, but one eye only saw the mound that was her flesh, the other seeing another person caught in a similar situation, in another room with walls of plexiglass. All she could tell about this person was that she had reddish black skin. Everything else was lost to her, as this person, too, was seeking to recover its form, pulsing, shifting. Everything was slowly starting to come back. The War, the Homeworld, the lady with the pink hair...Rose, that was her name. And the one with the glasses...Garnet. But, she could also remember dancing at a Bar, she could remember a family. She was remembering things from two different lives. She felt like she had just been born, and was remembering things two other people had done. She could remember going on a drive on May 20th, 1919, but she also remembered being trapped in a Gem for thousands of years.

She looked to her right, and she saw yet another caught in the same situation. She looked to her left, and noticed the black hair strewn across the body...Garnet. To her right, pink hair was growing on the other's form...Rose.

A voice from outside.

"Jesus Christ, look at those things! They're straight from hell! I told you this was a bad idea, Frank!" From another place outside, she heard someone puke.

She would have been offended and saddened that she could illicit such responses, but due to what was happening, she had one thing on her mind, and one thing that came out of her mouth.

 "Chhh...chELp...meeEEEee..."

 

* * *

 

 

 "So, what did you want to talk to me about, Natia?" said Khamkeo. Natia's bedroom was the type that just screams "I'm rich as fuck, and you'd better know it." It had an HD widescreen TV, a wardrobe beneath that TV with a blu-ray player, a Queen sized bed, and there was an air freshener plugged into the socket on the left wall. There was a ceiling fan that only ever went slow. There was a built in, personal bathroom for the place, to the right of the bottom of the bed, in the corner. Natia herself was huge and hulking; she must have been at _least_ 6"3, and she clearly worked out everyday. She was native Samoan, and had bushy, long, flowing pale hair. She wore a mahogany, sleeveless, v-neck tank top and mahogany leggings, bottomed off with red boots with brown tips, and a decorative jasper on her nose.

"Well, I have an offer to make you. Take a seat." She motioned towards her bed. Khamkeo sat down. She was lao, and, like Natia, wore a tank top, but her's was halter, with a ribbon on the back that kept it on. Her hair was dyed light blue and went down to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark blue, complementing her hair. Kham was worried of what was about to happen. Her boss, Natia, always was kind of weird around her. She'd always take any opportunity to be alone with her, and she would often make passes at her, and then say she was just joking, but she never sounded like she was.

Natia stood in front of the TV and turned towards Khamkeo. "Alright, Khammie, you're about to see something freaky, so don't freak out, okay?"

Now Kham _knew_ this was a bad idea.

Before she could get up off the bed, Natia's nose gem began to glow. The glow then engulfed her entire body. A bright silhouette, she grew taller, and became even hulkier then before. When the glow faded, leaving as fast as it came, she had fully tangerine skin, with some darker splotches here and there, most noticeably her face. Her nose was gone, her jasper accessory in it's place, chiseled to be a half-pyramid; like a nose.

"N...natia?"

"While I'm in this form, call me Jasper."

"Um, okay. J-jasper, what-"

"I'm a shapeshifter. That's what happens when you sign up for the Gem Project. And get an approval, that is."

"Is...that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yeah. I want to give you an opportunity to be like me."

Kham bowed her head down and placed her hands on her head, clutching her hair.

"I'm sorry, but I-"

Jasper sat down next to her, and placed her hand on her back, just above the ribbon, and caressed it in an oval. 

"Listen, Kham. I know this might seem scary. But I'm giving you an opportunity to get revenge on the men who are keeping you in this country. To go back home."

"Wh-what?"

"We found a blue, tear shaped gem in a mirror during one of our excavations. It's cracked and damaged beyond repair. It's a lapis lazuli gem. We've studied it and found the gem inside has the power to form _wings_. You could fly home, if you do this. You'd be powerful, like me."

Kham thought about it for a bit. "Just...give me time to think abou-"

"I'm sorry, Kham, but if you don't say yes, the higher-ups will just find someone else to join the project. It's now or never." Funny thing is, she wasn't sorry, and Kham was the only one who's saliva sample they took out of her coffee cup proved able to revive the gem.

Kham thought very hard about it. She thought of her friends she left all those years ago, who she never got to explain to how she was pulled over for no reason, missed her flight, and her mother worked her back off for 10 years at a dead end job until she died, so close to getting the money for a new ticket, only to have the money confiscated due to "inheritance laws". She felt all the rage, all the sorrow, all the homesickness she could possibly feel in that moment.

"Okay. But what's the catch?"

Jasper grabbed hold of her hand. "I want you to be mine."

"What?"

"I have something you want. You have something I want. Move in with me, and do whatever I say. I'll give you the power to get what you want." She reached out her hand for a shake.

"C'mon. _Just say yes."_

Kham hesitated. Then, she reached out and grabbed Jasper's hand, and shook it.

"Perfect."

Jasper then pulled her in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter end! This was to set up Jasper/Natia's relationship with Kham/Lapis, and to establish Lapis's importance in the rest of the work.


End file.
